Concealed Carry State Laws In Vermont

Concealed carry laws, or CCW’s, in Vermont refers to the legally issued permit which allows for the carrying of a handgun or other weapon in a concealed manner within any place open to the general public.

Not all weapons that fall under concealed carry state laws in Vermont are lethal, there are some states that regulate non-lethal items such a pepper spray that are carried over a set volume requiring the obtaining of a CCW permit. (In some states non-lethal items require a separate permit)

Every State's Concealed Carry Laws Are Unique In Vermont

While in Vermont there is no current federal law that specifically address the issuance of concealed carry permits for private citizens as each state is responsible for the control of concealed carry permits within its sovereign borders. All 50 states have passed laws allowing their respective residents to carry certain concealed firearms in public, either without a permit or after obtaining a permit from their local Sheriff’s office or Chief of police.

In all states and in Vermont the only federal law concerning CCW’s is the Peace Officer Safety Act of 2004, (H.R. 218) to lean about this and all other states Concealed Carry Laws see our database on our website US Precision Defense where we maintain a comprehensive listing of every States weapons laws.

The Vermont state constitution states: “That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power.”

The Vermont state constitution dates back before the US Constitution and the bill of rights.

The term "Vermont Carry" is widely used by gun rights advocates to refer to allowing citizens to carry a firearm concealed or openly without any kind of permit requirement, however this term is being replaced by the more generic or politically correct term of "Constitutional Carry". Vermont law does not distinguish between residents and non-residents of the state; both have the same right to carry while in Vermont.

The “Unrestricted & No Issue” classification means that the state of Vermont does not require or even issue Concealed Carry permits (CCW) to its residents for concealed carry in the state.

While this means any Vermont resident can carry concealed inside the state’s boundaries without a permit, it also means a Vermont resident cannot carry concealed in other states that allow non-resident concealed carry since they do not possess a physical concealed carry permit. A way to avoid this situation is to obtain a concealed carry permit from a state that grants permits to non-residents and use that permit for out-of-state concealed carry. Florida and Utah are popular options for this method due to the ease of approval and these states have reciprocal agreements with a large amount of states.

Vermont is one of only three states in America that allows anyone to carry concealed weapons without a permit. The other two states are Alaska and Arizona. Additionally, Vermont is one of few states in the nation that allow citizens younger than the age of 21 to carry. In Vermont, anyone age 16 or older can carry handguns openly or concealed. For youths under the age of 16, parental consent is needed before a handgun can be carried.

Currently Vermont recognizes the CCW permits of 47 other states. US Precision Defense maintains a database of all U.S. handgun laws of all 50 states including all reciprocity agreements, and is available to the public. Gun Laws can be found on our Home page, Reciprocity maps.

Vermont already boasts a high rate of gun ownership along with the least restrictive laws of any state in the county. Vermont is currently only one of three states that allow a citizen to carry a concealed firearm without a permit. This combination of plenty of guns and few laws regulating them has resulted in a crime rate that is the THIRD lowest in the nation!

Recently Florida who now has over 1 million CCW permits issued released their newest crime statistics, they had a 26% drop in violent crimes. This punches some holes in Bloomberg’s theories and those of the current Obama administration. These facts drive gun control zealots crazy. The proof is in the math.

The right to hunt is enshrined in the Vermont Constitution; the state is often considered the most liberal in the country yet surprisingly has no state gun control laws. A 2001 study found that 42 percent of Vermont homes had firearms, above the national average of 31.7 percent. Yet the state’s rate of homicide by firearms is so low the numbers don’t register in statistics kept by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The nationwide cry for gun control by the liberal media in the wake of recent mass shootings and in the course of the failed effort to pass tougher gun laws in Congress has been heard in Vermont. But it hasn’t taken hold, and for good reason. Vermont is proof that guns have a positive social value. In a quote by the Governor; “The fact is Vermonters don’t own weapons to kill and maim other human beings. They own weapons to manage our natural resources and to carry on hunting traditions that are the glue to our family units and the glue to our communities.”

In Vermont the following statement was posed to the public; “Outside of criminology circles, relatively few people can reasonably estimate how often people use guns to fend off criminal attacks. If policymakers are truly interested in harm reduction, they should pause to consider how many crimes, murders, rapes, assaults, robberies— are thwarted each year by ordinary persons with guns. The estimates of defensive gun use range between the tens of thousands to as high as two million each year.”

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U.S. Precision Defense assumes no liability and is not responsible for the actions of its members or readers of this website. The materials provided here are the opinions of the authors, are intended solely for education purposes, and should not be relied on for legal or professional advice. Laws relating to firearms and the use of deadly force vary from state to state, and each individual is responsible for compliance with the laws of each jurisdiction. If legal or other professional advice is needed, consult a lawyer or other professionals. All materials on this website are copyrighted to U.S. Precision Defense and may not be republished without permission from U.S. Precision Defense.